How much financial trouble are the 2012 Games in? A lot of trouble, an awful lot of trouble, or an awful lot more trouble than anyone involved is yet prepared to admit to?
Let's round up the recent news. The private capital required to build the village and the media centre - in which Hackney's mayor has invested such legacy hopes - is barely forthcoming, resulting in the government coughing up an "interim" £95 million from its contingency fund. The ODA is arm-wrestling with Lend Lease, the builder, over the financial details. The number of apartments planned for the village has shrunk.
Meanwhile, the organising committee is considering abandoning plans to build a special venue in Greenwich for the badminton competition and holding it at dear old Wembley Arena instead. Basketball may be moved from the Olympic Park. All cost-cutting options are being considered. The price of the stadium has already soared.
I'd say that's quite a lot of trouble, and Cadbury putting £20 million of "tier-two" sponsorship dough into the pot for staging the event - not the same thing as paying for buildings and infrastructure - is of little consolation, comforting though a Wispa bar can be.
In the circumstances I've a bit of sympathy for the politicians involved, who have little choice but to keep smiling and cross their fingers behind their backs. Today, Mayor Johnson has joined a parade of our Beijing gong-winners. His insistence that there is an upside to the downturn is becoming a hallmark of his mayoralty. For how long can he keep it up?
